South Korea - North Korea trade dwindles by 40%

Seoul explains this bilateral trade reduction mainly by the cessation of work of the Kaesong Industrial Complex

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SEOUL, August 23 (Itar-Tass) - Trade volume between South Korea and North Korea in the first half of the year has dwindled by almost 40% to $559.1 million against the same period last year, the South Korean Statistics Service said in a report on Friday.

According to its data, the figure stood at $930 million in January-June 2012.

Seoul explains this bilateral trade reduction mainly by the cessation of work of the Kaesong Industrial Complex.

It was closed in early April due to a sharp deterioration of relations between the two countries after North Korea carried out a nuclear test.

While in January the bilateral trade volume amounted to $180.6 million, by the end of April, when the Kaesong complex was closed, this figure fell to $22 million.

Last week, Seoul and Pyongyang agreed to resume the work of the industrial park, which will contribute to the improvement of inter-Korean relations, analysts believe.